UNIVERSITY OF LAGOS

FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY

NAME:

OMOBI DENNIS OVUOKERIE

MATRIC NO:

160906035

COURSE CODE:

GRY424

COURSE TITLE:

TRANSPORTATION PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT

LECTUERER:

DR. E. EGE

ASSIGNMENT:

Differentiate between the Topology and Typology of Network.

DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN THE TOPOLOGY AND TYPOLOGY OF NETWORK.

In transport geography, it is common to identify several types of transport structures that are
linked with transportation networks with key elements such as nodes, links, flows, hubs, or
corridors. Network structure ranges from centripetal to centrifugal in terms of the accessibility
they provide to locations. A centripetal network favors a limited number of locations, while a
centrifugal network tends not to convey any specific locational advantages. Network structures
can also be direct or indirect in their connectivity. The most directly connected networks are
point-to-point networks where a service originates and ends in a single location. A more complex
form involves a route network where there is a sequence of intermediary locations that are
serviced along a linear sequence.

1. The Topology and Typology of Networks

Transportation networks, like many networks, are generally embodied as a set of locations and a
set of links representing connections between those locations. The arrangement and connectivity
of a network are known as its topology, with each transport network having a specific topology.
Network topology looks at the arrangement of nodes and links, particularly their locations and
the nature of their connections. Network connectivity involves a specific configuration of links
and nodes. Links indicate which nodes are linked and how they are linked, namely with a
directional attribute such as unidirectional or bi-directional. Nodes indicate how it is possible to
access connected links, namely as a link being an entry and/or an exit to the node.

A network topology is related to the arrangement of nodes and links, particularly how each node
is linked with the others:

− Mesh networks: Networks where there are at least two nodes with two or more links
between them.
− Hub-and-spoke networks: Networks where peripheral nodes are connected to a central
node; the hub.
− Linear networks: Networks where there is only one link between each node pairs and
where each node has a maximum of two links.
− Tree networks: Networks that are converging to one node from a hierarchy of other
nodes.
 Network Topologies

2. A Typology of Transportation Networks

There are many criteria that can be used to classify transportation networks. Its level of
abstraction can be considered with tangible network representations closely matching the reality
(such as a road map) while conversely an abstract network would only be a symbolization of the
nodes and flows (such as an airline network). Since transportation networks have a geographical
setting, they can be defined according to their relative location to main elements of a territory,
such as a coastal network. Networks also have an orientation and an extent that approximates
their geographical coverage or their market area. The number of nodes and edges is relevant to
express the complexity and structure of transportation networks with a branch of
mathematics, graph theory, developed to infer structural properties from these numbers is termed
NETWORK TYPOLOGY.
Since networks are the support of movements they can be considered from a modal perspective,
their edges being an abstraction of routes (roads, rail links, maritime routes) and their nodes an
abstraction of terminals (ports, airports, rail yards). Specific modes can further be classified in
terms types of road (highway, road, street, etc.) and level of control (controlled access, speed
limit, vehicle restrictions, etc.). Flows on a network have a volume and a direction, enabling to
rank links by their importance and evaluate the general direction of flows (e.g. centripetal or
centrifugal). Each segment and network has a physical capacity related to the volume it can
support under normal conditions (traffic above capacity is labeled as congestion). The load (or
volume to capacity ratio) is the relation between the existing volume and the capacity. The closer
a network is to its full load (a ratio of 1), the more it is congested. Since capacity is often a
theoretical estimation, networks can operate above design capacity. The structure of some
networks imposes a hierarchy reflecting the importance of each of its nodes and a pattern
reflecting their spatial arrangement. Finally, networks have a dynamic where both their nodes
and links can change due to new circumstances.

A Typology of Transportation Networks

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